Perennial Vegetables

"Full of surprising edible possibilities, this book 'promotes fresh thinking as to what a vegetable garden can be,' says Doreen Howard. 'This topic is presented in a thorough and engaging way,' says Susan Eubank. 'It teaches responsible gardening practices without preaching,' adds Marty Ross. Gene Bussell notes that the book's production 'reflects Chelsea Green's earth-friendly policy,' while maintaining an overall high quality."

—From the American Horticultural Society's announcement of the 2008 AHS Book Award

The garden that never stops giving.

There is a fantastic array of vegetables you can grow in your garden, and not all of them are annuals. In Perennial Vegetables the adventurous gardener will find information, tips, and sound advice on less common edibles that will make any garden a perpetual, low-maintenance source of food.

Imagine growing vegetables that require just about the same amount of care as the flowers in your perennial beds and borders--no annual tilling and planting. They thrive and produce abundant and nutritious crops throughout the season. It sounds too good to be true, but in Perennial Vegetables author and plant specialist Eric Toensmeier (Edible Forest Gardens) introduces gardeners to a world of little-known and wholly underappreciated plants. Ranging beyond the usual suspects (asparagus, rhubarb, and artichoke) to include such "minor" crops as ground cherry and ramps (both have found their way onto exclusive restaurant menus) and the much sought-after, antioxidant-rich wolfberry (also known as goji berries), Toensmeier explains how to raise, tend, harvest, and cook with plants that yield great crops and satisfaction.

Perennial vegetables are perfect as part of an edible landscape plan or permaculture garden. Profiling more than a hundred species, with dozens of color photographs and illustrations, and filled with valuable growing tips, recipes, and resources, Perennial Vegetables is a groundbreaking and ground-healing book that will open the eyes of gardeners everywhere to the exciting world of edible perennials.

About the Author

Eric Toensmeier

Eric Toensmeier calls himself a "socially engaged plant geek." He has spent much of his adult life exploring edible and otherwise useful plants and how they can be used in designed ecosystems. He is also co-author with Dave Jacke of the two-volume permaculture design manual Edible Forest Gardens. Eric has worked as a small farm trainer at the New England Small Farm Institute (Belchertown, MA) (www.smallfarm.org) and currently manages the Tierra de Oportunidades new farmer program of Nuestras Raices (www.nuestras-raices.org) in Holyoke, MA. There he is designing and installing a permaculture landscape in concert with immigrant farmers ...

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